Darien: Wolves of the Rising Sun #6: Mating Season, #6

By Deanna Chase

His wolf has already chosen…

Darien Davenne is a man of honor. And when he comes across Thea Johnson, the woman recovering from a traumatic kidnapping, he promises to protect her. But who's going to protect her from him when everything in him longs to make her his mate?

Thea Johnson's world has been turned upside down. All she wants is some quiet time in the bayou to recover. Instead, she gets sexy Darien Davenne, a wolf in gentlemen's clothing. But he might not be the only threat. With more than just her heart on the line, she'll need to find a way to survive if she wants her happily-ever-after.  

*Previously published under the pen name Kenzie Cox*

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bayou Moon Press, LLC
• Release date: Nov 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781386480495

Book preview

Chapter One

Darien

Sweat soaked through my T-shirt as I tightened the last bolt on the chopper, but it wasn’t the punishing South Louisiana sun that made me heated. It was the long legs of the blond beauty lounging on my front porch, her feet up on the railing and a tall glass of iced tea in her hand. The urge to run one of those ice cubes over her luscious body hit me hard. My gut clenched as I imagined her naked body stretched out beside me on my bed.

Christ, man. Get a fucking grip.

For the past week, Thea had been staying at the resort my brothers and I owned while she recovered from a traumatic kidnapping. Lusting after her while tuning up my motorcycle was beyond the pale. The woman needed a safe place to get her head on straight. Dealing with my bullshit was the last thing she should have to worry about.

If only she weren’t so fucking gorgeous.

I turned away from the cabin and focused on my bike. Then I let out a humorless huff of laughter. The only reason I was out in the hot sun was because Thea was sitting on my porch swing, and for whatever reason, I couldn’t seem to stay away.

Want some? she called.

I twisted and eyed her. She was standing at the bottom of the step, holding out her glass. My lips twitched into a smile as something close to pleasure tingled in my chest. Just having her there was enough. Sure.

Come sit with me in the shade. It’s brutal out today. She pulled her freshly dyed blond locks off her neck and craned her head to the side, taking advantage of the mild breeze.

It did nothing to cool me though. The humidity was bordering full-on swamp mode. And watching her… Damn, I needed an ice-cold shower. But I wasn’t going to pass on her invitation. Wiping my brow with the rag I kept in my back pocket, I took a seat next to her on the swing, sucked down a third of the contents of her glass, and then held it out to her. Thanks. I needed that.

She shook her head, waving my hand away. You keep it. There’s more inside.

I smiled lazily, loving that she’d been comfortable enough to make herself at home in my cabin. A week and a half ago, she’d spent three days in a human cage while her captors made plans to sell her to the slave trade. My brother Silas and his mate, Hannah, had rescued her before the bastards could set the rest of their plan in motion. And even though she hadn’t been physically harmed, she was still recovering from the mental trauma.

I was thinking maybe it’s time I left you alone, she said, staring out at the tree line to the left. Hannah’s old cabin is available. Now that she and Silas have officially moved in together, she said I could stay there as long as I need to.

Is that what you want to do? I asked, feeling a strange ache in my chest.

She shrugged, still not looking at me.

Thea?

She finally turned and reluctantly met my gaze, unable to hide the touch of panic swimming in her dark eyes.

You don’t have to go anywhere. Not until you’re good and ready, okay?

I can’t stay forever, Darien, she said, some conviction finding its way into her tone.

Sure you can. I don’t mind. In fact, I was enjoying it entirely too much. The second night Thea had been with us, I’d been returning from a night out with the guys just after one in the morning and found her on Hannah’s porch, hyperventilating. She’d said it was just a nightmare and that she was fine. But the smudges under her eyes, her pasty-white skin, and her haunted expression hadn’t let me leave her alone.

Instead, I’d invited her to my cabin for a drink. She’d glanced once at the empty cabin she’d been staying in and then quickly agreed. But when we got back to my place, instead of having a drink, she’d curled up on the couch and gone to sleep.

Two hours later, she’d woken up screaming, scaring the shit out of me. And I’d done the only thing I could think of. I sat with her, holding her until she settled down, and then offered her my bed. After a little coaxing, she’d agreed. But when I’d tried to leave to take the couch, she’d asked if I’d hold her until she fell asleep. Not knowing what else to do, I’d laid down and wrapped her in my arms. We’d both fallen asleep quickly, and dammit, it was the best night of sleep I’d ever had.

She’d stayed with me every night since then. Just sleeping. The nightmares hadn’t completely disappeared, but they were tapering off. Last night she’d only woken up once instead of the usual two or three times.

Okay, but I should probably make plans to go back home soon. Thea’s voice hitched as if she was having trouble getting the words out.

You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Unable to help myself, I brushed my knuckle gently over her soft cheek. You can stay as long as you want. And if you need anything from your place, Wren can pick it up on his way home from work.

Wren was my youngest brother and a